Resistance
by Epiwsedis
Summary: What did the Autobots do during Decepticon dominance on Cybertron? Stories of the resistance. Featuring a load of characters no-one remembers.
1. Wreck'n'Rule

_Just a short fic about some under-utilised G1 characters, and also the Wreckers, who I absolutely __loved as a Marvel UK reading kid._

_My second fic, so any reviews/pointer/criticism welcome._

"This is Slapdash, of Autobot squad Beta-4. Autobot down! Repeat, Autobot down! Under heavy fire at Decepticon fire-base south of Kallis border. Request immediate assistance! Repeat, this is Autobot Squad Beta 4 – AARGGH!"

The panicked Autobot collapsed with a cry of pain as the laser bolt smashed through his thigh, his communicator disintegrated as it hit the ground.

"Slapdash! You still with us?" Getaway shouted as he leaned against an old storage crate that was being shot to pieces by the group of Decepticons who had the Autobot squad pinned down. Joyride popped out of cover and snapped a couple of shots towards the Decepticons.

Slapdash examined his injured leg, watching with grim fascination as purple fluid trickled out of it, even as his internal repair systems worked to lock it down and minimise the damage.

"I'll be fine, assuming we get out of here. Think we got through?"

Getaway paused and surveyed the scene, Joyride crouched 15 metres away behind another ammo crate. The unconscious form of Turbine was propped up against the crate, his severed arm and leg lay next to him. Energon continued to seep from his many wounds. An open broadcast was a huge risk, but it was their only narrow hope of avoiding termination.

"We'd better hope so."

It wasn't supposed to have gone like this, Getaway thought to himself. Sneak to a rumoured Decepticon weapon cache, plant a couple of charges, blow it all up and watch from a safe distance. Job done. Instead they had been ambushed and almost cut to pieces in the initial attack. Now the Decepticons were slowly spreading out, threatening to surround the pinned down Autobots.

Getaway squeezed off a round from his plasma shell shotgun, watching with grim satisfaction as it caught a Decepticon warrior in the shell spread. Too far away to do serious damage, but limiting their advance and "keeping them honest" as Turbine would have said.

"Hey Getaway!" Joyride's voice broke through Getaway's reverie. "Now would be a great time for one of those miraculous escapes of yours!"

"I'm working on it!"

"Work faster!"

Getaway ducked down again, and edged next to Slapdash. Laser fire whizzed through the air, illuminating the spot where his head had been just seconds before. Slapdash was fully conscious, but unable to use his leg, and presumably, transform.

"You can still fire a gun, yeah?"

"Err...yeah, but I, ah, kinda forgot to bring one. Again."

Getaway hoped that his mouthplate would conceal his annoyance.

"I'm gonna see if I can disable the firing pin detonators in our explosive charges. Maybe hotchpotch them into grenades. You can use my gun to cover us, okay?"

"Sure."

Getaway passed Slapdash his shotgun and then pulled an escape kit out of his heel. He'd need to use one of his magnetic lock inducers to act as a five second firing mechanism.

"There's a lot of weird bits on your gun," Slapdash interrupted his concentration. "What do they do?"

Getaway had neither the time nor the inclination to explain the finer points of plasma-shell shotgun workings to his friend.

"Point the end with the hole in it at a Decepticon, pull the trigger, and stop annoying the guy playing with the very unstable explosives."

Chastened, Slapdash moved to the edge of their cover and fired hopelessly wide of two Decepticon seekers. They returned fire with greater accuracy, and Slapdash only just ducked back into cover again. Getaway stole a quick glance over to their other two comrades. Joyride was a far better shot than Slapdash, and had a more appropriate weapon, so he was holding the half dozen or so 'Cons around his position back, but had taken a number of minor wounds in the process. Turbine continued to leak out silently.

Slapdash pumped a new shell cartridge into the shotgun, and the spent casing almost landed on the explosives but for Getaway's lightning reflex catch. He threw the casing away and magnetised the casing of the first explosive. Should take about five seconds before the destabilised ions combusted.

"Joyride, fire in the hole!" He rose, lobbing the explosive towards three Decepticons on Joyride's left. The Autobots all ducked down and muted their audio receptors.

The ground shook and everyone was hurled through the air. Getaway felt his equilibrium failing. The planet seemed to be spinning, then his optics returned to usual. He switched his audio processors back on. The explosives were far more powerful than he had guessed. He struggled to sit, and saw a huge crater now existed where he had thrown the grenade. Slapdash and Joyride were down, hopefully just stunned. Several Decepticons had been injured, and others stumbled trying to reclaim sure footing.

There was movement to his left, a yellow and black Decepticon Seeker, blackened from the explosion but otherwise intact and with a look of cold murder on his face levelled his weapon at the unarmed Getaway.

A shot hit the Seeker's head, causing it to explode. The headless corpse slowly sank to the ground. Getaway turned in the direction of the shot. A small shuttle whizzed across the distance towards them. That shot had been the single most astonishing piece of marksmanship he had ever witnessed.

The shuttle slowed and from the opened side doors, a yellow, orange and red Autobot painstakingly reloaded an ancient looking laser musket, as a group of Autobots jostled for position beside him. The first Autobot, a chunky green bruiser leapt a huge distance off the shuttle to land beside a recovering Decepticon, with a slash of his metal sword he cleaved an arm off his stumbling foe.

"Wreck and Rule!" He cried.

"WRECK AND RULE!" His companions chorused in unison, as they dropped to the ground from the shuttle.

They tore into the remaining dazed Decepticons with an efficiency and brutality that, to Getaway's eyes, seemed borderline horrific. Two similarly-coloured Autobots transformed at a speed that shouldn't be possible, one into a drilling machine, who subsequently tore through a Decepticon, and the other into a Cybertronian helicopter, launching missiles at two Cons who had decided to run. A third fleeing combatant's head exploded from another terrifyingly precise shot from the musket-wielding Autobot still on the ship.

A strongly-built orange Autobot, carrying more heavy artillery than a battle cruiser poured round after round from a chain gun into the Decepticon commander. He twitched repeatedly as his body was kept from falling by each further impact from the ammunition that tore chunks out his body. He was dead before he hit the ground. When the last horrifically loud shot from his chain gun was replaced by a series of clicks, Getaway surveyed the scene.

Smoke rose from the ground, and the toll of the battle was very much in evidence. Twitching Decepticon corpses lay all around. A tough-looking purple-and-orange Autobot, with what looked like a harpoon for a hand disembarked from the still-hovering shuttle and stomped across to a still-active Decepticon, who tried to crawl away with his one remaining arm.

"What's your name, you Decepticon scum?"

"Get slagged, Autobot."

"You first."

The harpoon fired, digging into the ground through the helpless Decepticon's brain module. Getaway watched as the other Autobots grinned, apart from the chunky green bruiser, who had picked up the unconscious Turbine. He spoke to the harpoon-wielding executioner.

"Impactor, this one's hurt bad."

"Get him on the shuttle, we'll treat him at Debris. Top-Spin, give me an eye-in-the-sky while we clean up here. That explosion will be drawing Deceptions around here like empties to Maccadams at happy hour. Twin-Twist, Roadbuster, help the rest of these Autobots onto the shuttle."

Roadbuster, the chain-gun wielder, placed Spapdash's arm across his shoulder and rose, supporting the unsteady injured Autobots weight easily. Twin Twist helped Getaway to his feet.

"Nice trick with the explosive, my name's Twin Twist."

"I'm Getaway. Who exactly are you guys, and how did you get here so fast?"

Impactor stomped over.

"Ship now. Formal pleasantries later. This isn't a request."

Joyride was back on his feet, and sidled up to Getaway.

"Safe to say these guys aren't the new Autobot Public Relations team."

"Let's just be grateful they saved our rear fenders."

The pair clambered aboard the now rather cramped shuttle, and moved to the back. The rest of the Autobots boarded, with Topspin, the helicopter, on last. Impactor banged the side of the shuttle with his normal hand.

"All present and correct!" He shouted to the pilot. "Whirl, get us back to Debris."

"At once, oh fearless leader," a sarcastic voice replied from the cockpit.

The Autobot shuttle rose, turned and engines roared as it shot off into the distance, leaving behind twisted metal, broken bodies, and scorched ground.


	2. Up Close and Personal

The cramped Autobot shuttle whizzed across the sky at breakneck speed. The desolate Cybertronian landscape seemed endlessly fascinating to Joyride, who stared out the window sullenly.

Getaway was grateful for the rescue provided by these 'Wreckers', as they jovially referred to themselves. He kept quiet as he listened to them exaggerate their tales of bravado, observing what he could from each of them. He and his squad didn't appear to be prisoners, but best to learn what he could about his newly acquired blood-thirsty companions.

The leader, Impactor, was as rough and straight-forward a 'bot as Getaway had seen. He clearly commanded a lot of loyalty from his troops, as they all seemed to hero-worship him a bit. The pilot, Whirl, was clearly unhappy about having to pilot the shuttle and therefore miss the action back at Kallis. He grumbled loudly, sending several choice insults the way of anyone foolish enough to be within his earshot, and several others who weren't.

Sitting at the back next to the unconscious Turbine and injured Slapdash was Springer, the green Autobot who had struck the first blow in the preceding slaughter appeared to be second-in-command. From the sound of things he was a newer recruit than most of the rest, although already well-respected. Roadbuster was quietly re-calibrating his chain-gun in the corner, and seemed removed from the bravado, most of which came from the antique musket-wielding Sureshot, who seemed unable to go any length of time without going into great detail about his marksmanship capabilities. Admittedly, Getaway thought quietly to himself, if he could shoot like that he'd likely be a braggart too.

The final two Wreckers, Top-Spin and Twin-Twist, seemed to be siblings. They appeared inseparable and had an unsettling quirk of finishing each others sentences, usually when they hurled a choice insult Whirl's way. Siblings were extremely rare amongst Cybertronians and Getaway wondered if the tales he had heard from grizzled empties in Macaddams about branched sparks and sympathetic pains were true.

Most of Impactor's chat was about what would happen when they returned to Debris, which appeared to be the code name of some kind of base. Truth be told, this group was the largest Autobot resistance cell Getaway had ever encountered. Given the borderline totality of the Decepticon dominance on Cybertron, Autobot resistance had been splintered down to the tiniest groups possible, with minimal contact with each other. This ensured minimum disruption to operations if a cell was ever captured and interrogated. Almost nobody at ground level knew where anyone else operated out of.

From what Getaway could see through the shuttle viewport, they were heading toward the ruins of Praxus. Formerly one of the shining cities of the first Golden Age, it was now a ruin, and a cautionary tale about Autobot under-estimation of the Decepticon's intent. One of the legendary Autobot Ark crew, Bluestreak had been an inhabitant of Praxus. His thirst for revenge for the death of a city had led to him becoming one of the 18 revered missing Autobots. They could do with their like now.

"All-right ladies, code accepted, we're going underground!" Whirl's voice yelled from the cockpit.

As the shuttle lowered, a hidden compartment slid open in the ruins of the city below. Whirl expertedly lowered the ship into the darkness. There was a brief sound of compressed air being released from the shuttles lower jets, and it came to rest on solid metal.

Lights sprang to life around them, and Impactor opened the shuttle door, and began issuing orders.

"Top Spin, Twin-Twist, Roadbuster, Sureshot, get the two injured bots to the medibay. Whirl, notify Xaaron I want to see him immediately. Springer, take our two other guests to the debriefing room. I want answers, and I want to know how they've managed to survive this long, despite appearing utterly hopeless."

Getaway showed no emotion at the insult, even as Impactor glared at Joyride who balled his fists but thought better of it. Better to find out exactly what they were dealing with. Glancing around the hangar was small and cramped. There was a small contorl point, which was presently unmanned. Towards the North wall was a door which must lead to the rest of the base. Looking at the cramped and makeshift nature of the place, Getaway was sure this must have been an abandoned smuggling depot from before the war.

"Don't mind Impactor, he's always grumpy." Springer explained, offering a sympathetic half-smile to Getaway. "I liked the stunt with the explosives. Anyway, let's get going. Welcome to Debris. Home of the Wreckers, and also a few more Autobots we have managed to round up."

"How many of you are here?" asked Joyride.

"Let's see...the ones you've met, plus maybe ten others."

Getaway cut in.

"This place is way too far out for you to have just responded to our emergency transmission. You were already there, waiting, weren't you?"

"Wondered if you'd twig to that." Springer said ruefully. "I'll let Impactor and Xaaron explain."

"Hang fire for a sec!" Joyride interrupted. "Xaaron? As in Emirate Xaaron? I thought he died during Trannis' original strike on the High Council at Iacon?"

"You can ask him how he survived yourself when you get the chance. I neither know nor care."

Springer's clipped response indicated he had grown tired of the discussion. He led the pair of reluctant Autobots through cramped, stripped rusted corridors. They passed what appeared to be a makeshift barracks, a sparse armoury and a workshop, where, through the door, Getaway could see two Autobots working on an evil-looking weapon that resembled Impactor's harpoon hand, although much larger in scale.

Getaway considered what he had seen so far. Impactor's harpoon, Springer's sword, Twin-Twist's transformation, the harpoon-like weapon he had just glimpsed. He decided to ask.

"Why all the bladed weapons?" Getaway enquired politely to Springer, hoping for more of an insight into the Wrecker mindset. The green Autobot didn't break his stride, but seemed prepared to answer.

"Ever killed a Decepticon, either of you? In a fight, not with a bomb or suchlike?"

"Honestly?" replied Getaway, "I don't know. I doubt it. My gun's pretty powerful but we like to avoid firefights. And our tactics are hit and run mostly."

"Probably not." Joyride concurred.

"I have." Springer continued matter-of-factly. "You can pump laser bolts, bullets, concussion rounds, any kind of projectile you like at them. Unless you're a crack shot, like Sureshot, you're unlikely to hit spark or brain at distance, or in the close-up madness of a firefight. Only way to be sure of it is to take them apart piece-by-piece. With your fists, or with a blade. It's a dirty job, but it's them or us. I vote them."

Getaway remained silent as he considered the callous approach of the youthful Autobot leading them along the corridor. Springer was powerfully built, and clearly confident in his abilities. Rightly so, Getaway thought, remembering the display of violence he had witnessed earlier that day. Was this the ultimate legacy of the Great War then? To produce Autobot's so inured to violence and the taking of life that the lines between them and the Decepticons seemed blurred to older 'bots like Getaway?

Certainly Joyride revelled in adrenaline and thrill-seeking, and was a handy fighter, but these Wreckers were _brutal_. Was this what it had come to? Murder justified as self-defence? The Decepticons the Wreckers had disposed of, with the exception of Getaway's would-be-executioner were clearly dazed and no match for their killers. It had been a slaughter.

Getaway broke out of his introspection as they reached the farthest room. It was little bigger than the shuttle hangar, but had some semblance of a briefing room to it. Impactor stood behind two chairs, both of which were occupied.

Springer hadn't been lying. The occupant of the first chair was clearly Emirate Xaaron. Getaway remembered him from pre-war telecasts. He also recognised the former Cybertronian Security Chief sat next to him. Getaway struggled in vain to remember the guy's name. It mattered little, as Xaaron rose upon their arrival and addressed them.

"Fellow Autobots," he began, "I'm glad my team could be of use rescuing you today. We appreciate your efforts against our common foe. I am Emirate Xaaron. Impactor, you have already met, and this is Kup."

Kup! That was it, Getaway thought to himself.

"Let me see if I'm gettin' this straight," Kup started. "You two and your colleagues stumble blindly into an obvious Decepticon trap. You get shot full of holes by a 'Con Sparkling Squad, broadcast your allegiance and location on an open channel, and then turn the area into a crater, necessitaing Impactor and his squad to come in and save you. Did I leave anything out?"

Joyride lost his cool.

"Yeah. You did. You missed the part where your glory boy Impactor left us to fend on our own for an age against the 'Cons, and then only saved the day after we'd knocked them for a loop and there was no danger. He was ready to watch us die."

Impactor started forward.

"You better watch your slaggin' mouth, Joyride."

"Bring it on tough guy, shouldn't you be waiting until someone knocks me down first before you start to fight?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" A different voice roared, silencing all around.

Getaway realised with some embarrasment that it had been his voice.

"Joyride, I have the same reservations as you, but we're guests here, and like it or not they did save us, even if they took their time. Let's get Slapdash and Turbine and get out of here."

"Turbine isn't going anywhere." Impactor cut in, stoically. "He's in a bad condition. Gonna be a while before he can move under his own power. I'm sorry."

Not good, thought Getaway to himself. Something else had intrigued him in Kup's earlier diatribe.

"Kup, you mentioned a Decepticon Sparkling Squad. What is that?"

"Group of new recruits who havent made their first kills yet. Always eager to do so. After they'd killed you, they all drink from your innermost energon and get their Deception brand. Not a pleasant ending."

"Well thanks for saving us from that," offered Getaway to Impactor and Springer.

"Any time." Springer replied. The green Autobot definitely had more social skills than Impactor.

Xaaron spoke up.

"Getaway, Joyride, you must be wanting to see your companions. Kup will escort you to our medibay. Be warned - our facilities are basic, and we have no proper medics. But we will do out best for them both. We'll find you a couple of recharge slabs also. It's the least we can do. Hopefully we will speak again before you depart."

Thus dismissed, Getaway and Joyride were led out of the chambers by Kup. Now, Getaway mused internally, they just had to try and fit in here without upsetting any more of their hosts. Given that Joyride was clearly still spoiling for a fight, it might be a hard task.


End file.
